TI Properties financed the purchase with a five-year, $1.2 million loan through Merchants & Farmers.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

House Passes Tax Cuts on Groceries, Estates

The House has voted to begin phasing out Tennessee’s inheritance tax and to lower the state’s sales tax on groceries.

The chamber voted 88-8 on the estate tax measure Thursday, and 96-0 to cut the food tax from 5.5 percent to 5.25 percent.

Republicans hailed the estate tax cut as a way to keep retirees from moving out of state, while Democrats argued that the tax cut on groceries affects a far larger number of people.

Both measures were part of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s legislative agenda this year.

The inheritance tax currently applies to estates worth more than $1 million, and was paid in 845 instances in the last budget year. The bill would bump that exemption up to $1.25 million next year and to $5 million by 2016.

– The Associated Press

Plough Fdtn. Awards $120K for Wolf River Conservancy

The Plough Foundation has awarded $120,000 to support the establishment of Wolf River Conservancy Urban Youth Conservation Corps in Shelby County.

Young people who will participate in the program will come from neighborhoods in North Memphis near the Wolf River, but who have had little or no exposure to the ecosystems supported in the Wolf River watershed.

The eight-week program will include hands on learning opportunities in such basic life skills as first aid, CPR and swimming, but will also seek to develop a practical understanding of the local plants and animals that live in the watershed. Participants will also gain knowledge of future career opportunities in “outdoor” careers such as engineering, urban habitat restoration, water sciences and land management.

The Conservancy will work with two local organizations, Arkwings and the Chickasaw Council, Boy Scouts of America’s Scoutreach program to select participants. The Wolf River Conservation Corps program will kick off in the summer.

The program is being organized and managed by Cathy Justis, education director of the Wolf River Conservancy.

The Daily News is a supporter of the Wolf River Conservancy.

– Sarah Baker

Overton Bark Dog Park to Open In June

A dog park in Overton Park will be sponsored by the Hollywood Feed pet food company, the Overton Park Conservancy announced Thursday, April 12.

The “Overton Bark” dog park is to open in June on Old Forest Lane near the Rainbow Lake playground.

It will include separate areas for large and small dogs as well as an obstacle course for the dogs and water fountains.

Hollywood Feed is a locally owned business that sells natural and holistic pet food.

– Bill Dries

Crawfish Festival Benefits Porter-Leath

The 20th Annual City Auto Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival will take place Sunday, April 15, from noon to 6 p.m. at Wagner Place, between Union Avenue and Beale Street Downtown.

The event will feature live Cajun and zydeco bands on several stages, 15,000 pounds of crawfish, 96 kegs of beer, crawfish races, eating contests and a gumbo cook-off featuring 24 teams.

The festival will benefit Porter-Leath, a 160-year-old, Memphis-based nonprofit that serves more than 10,000 at-risk children and families each year. Its programs include residential services, foster and adoptive care, early childhood and parent education and senior services.

In 2011, the festival had 19,000 attendees and raised $120,000 for Porter-Leath. Organizers expect this year’s event to attract about 20,000 visitors.

– Aisling Maki

Valentine Joins Regions Insurance

Chalmers Valentine, owner and principal of Peyton Financial Group, has joined Regions Insurance of Tennessee.

She’s worked for Peyton Financial Group for the past 23 years specializing in insurance and financial services, estate coordination, executive compensation, employee benefits and retirement planning. Her focus at Regions Insurance will be to help build out a life insurance and executive compensation practice.

Valentine holds the Certified Life Underwriter designation and is a member of the Million Dollar Roundtable. She’s a past president of the Society of Financial Services Professionals, a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and a past National Quality Award recipient.

Lagarde: IMF Funding Need May Be Less Than Thought

The head of the International Monetary Fund says the lending agency might not need as large a boost in financial resources as first thought to address Europe’s debt crisis.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde didn’t elaborate in a speech Thursday beyond citing an improved “economic climate.” She says she hopes to resolve the issue when the IMF holds its spring meeting in Washington next week.

The IMF has about $400 billion in resources it can use to provide loans to troubled countries. In the past, Lagarde discussed raising that total to near $1 trillion. Her comments Thursday suggested that the IMF might need less.

The United States, the IMF’s largest shareholder, has said it won’t contribute to an increase in IMF resources. Other countries outside Europe have expressed reluctance, too.